How Learning Theories Account for Group Development and Readiness Assurance: Piaget, Vygotsky and Bandura Michael Sweet Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment University of Texas, Austin msweet@austin.utexas.edu

Overview Introduction to the theorists and theories Application to group development (me) Application to readiness assurance (you!)

The Players Jean Piaget - Cognitive constructivist Lev Vygotsky - Social constructivist Albert Bandura - Motivational theorist

Cognitive Constructivism (Piaget) Learning is: The active, iterative development of mental maps and categories to organize our understanding of ongoing experience. Subject Object relations (knowledge is neither innate nor simply behavioristic) Assimilation and Accommodation Equilibration (carry-on vs. check your baggage?) Knowledge-building-conflict and perspective-taking

Social Constructivism (Vygotsky) Development is: Increasingly sophisticated co-creation of a discourse culture via mastery of (and shaping by) its cultural tools. No distinction between cognitive and social development Higher-order learning functions first arise “inter-psychologically” then are internalized by the individual (fire sticks) Negotiated intersubjectivity the “zone of proximal development” (ZPD) Think about Vygotsky as coming from an anthropological perspective. “Cultural methods of reasoning” The presence or absence or variations in the kinds of institutions, schools, tools, will shape how the learner comes to reason. Compare countries that do or do not separate church and state. When the church is the state, what counts as a truth claim is very different from when they are separate. We learn to reason within a culture, and to use different tools for reasoning.

Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura) Learning is: Secondary to motivation (value + expectancy). Self-efficacy – perceived ability to achieve something specific Collective-efficacy – individually-held belief in group ability Modeling – observational learning

Vectors of Group Development (Birmingham & McCord, 2004) Trust in an attraction to group (less more) Goal identification (self-interest group goals) Perception of others’ abilities (stereotype specific) Communication (social task) Frequency of disagreement (less more) Conflict resolution (face saving consensus) Complex intellectual ability (less more)

How Would Each Theorist Explain the Instructional Value of the RAP? Piaget Vygotsky Bandura iRAT gRAT Immediate Feedback Team Appeals Instructor Clarification